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RU LE BO OK

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THE

s,cR,T MISTOR1,s
RULEBOOK
First Edition

Written and designed by

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Lottie Bevan and Alexis Kennedy

Contents

1. Introducing TRPGs

5. How to Play

7. Creating Characters

10. Mechanics of the Invisible World

13. Perils Martial

18. Perils Spiritual

21. Glossary

If you like the Secret Histories, you can find more of it in all these places:

Cultist Simulator, a BAFTA-nominated Lovecraftian strategy game

BOOK OF HOURS, an upcoming game about forbidden libraries and solitude

The Lady Afterwards, a Secret Histories scenario set in 1920s Alexandria

www.weatherfactory.biz
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INTRODUCING TRPGS
"Secret histories are layered beneath the one we know, like the notes in rare wine."

Imagine a group of people s1ttmg around a THE ROLE OF THE GAME RUNNER
table. One of them is the Game Runner. The
others are all players trying to unravel a The Game Runner sets the scene, manages
mystery through story-telling and dice-rolling. players, roleplays non-player characters
The Game Runner sets the scene, and the (NPCs) and directs the whole game. You want
players each decide what they'd like to do. players to make progress - or everyone will be
When everyone's had a turn, or when the bored - but you also want to challenge them,
situation changes, everyone gets another provide obstacles and run an engaging,
opportunity to take an action. Rinse and believable game in a frightening occult world.
repeat!
Some players might fail to achieve their goals.
WHAT YOU NEED TO PLAY Some might get hurt. Some might even die.
They might not figure things out before it's
Okay, okay, the ideal experience is you have too late, or they might never figure them out
everything that we've included in The Lad:y at all. It's up to you, the players and the dice.
Afterwards box. But if you don't have that, the
basic requirements are: The Game Runnel' can be as kind or as mean
as they like. Tailor it to your players, and
• A set of seven polyhedral dice, including what's most fun for everyone.
a D20, Dl2, Dl0, D8, D6, D4 and D%
( see next column and overleaf) THE ROLL OF THE DICE

• Character sheets, artefacts and The Lady Dice rolls - usually used for skill and attribute
Afterwards Game Runner's Guide checks - determine the success or failure of
certain actions. Usually it'll be the players
• This rulebook rolling dice, though you might want to raise
or lower the number they need to hit or roll
• 2-8 friends! beneath to succeed, depending on the
situation.
It's even better if you have the following, too:
Skill and attribute checks are rolled with two
• The Tarot of the Hours or the Lucid dice (the D% and the DlO), giving you a
Tarot. We'll be delighted to sell you a deck, or number out of 100. You have to roll on or
you can use a tarot deck you already own. The under a specific number - usually marked on
boxed edition of The Lady Afterwards a player's character sheet - to succeed.
includes an Essential Hours deck if you don't Generally speaking, the lower you roll, the
have anything else. better the outcome.

• Mood music, character pins, and a scented The D% die gives you the tens and the DlO
candle to set the olfactory tone. If you can't die gives you the units of the number out of
get your hands on a Lady Afterwards box, feel 100. So for a skill check against a Demolition
free to improvise. skill of 60, the highest a successful roll could
be is 60 on the D% and 0 on the DlO.
A lot of people have a favourite set of dice. If
you do, you do, great! Use one set for the
players and the other for the Regard of the
Hours (see 'Mechanics of the Invisible World'
on page 10). If you don't have your own dice, DlO D%
don't worry - you'll just have to share with the (0, 1, 2 .... ) ( 00, 10, 20... )
Hours. What could possibly go wrong? Same shape, different numbers!

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persu ade someone who's frigh tened of you

or has a crush on you is an advantage. For
every advantage that applies, your chan ce of
D4 D6 D8 Dl 2 D20 success increases by 10% . So for every
advantage that applies, +10 to the number
Oth er events might require other dice. The s omeone has to roll under to succeed.
Game Runner's Guide will tell you when dice
other than the D% and DlO are relevant.
Anise's car blows a tyre on a desert
You don't have to roll dice for everything. road. She has a spare wheel, but no jack,
People don't need to roll to determine if they and a Handyman skill of 45. She's in no
p ut their trousers on properly in the morning hurry, though, so she works slowly and
or if they eat a sandwich without choking on carefully. Her companions roll up their
it. But for more significant actions - whether sleeves and help. That's two advantages,
they spot something glinting in the woods, or for +20% chance of success.
w hether they hear the sound of distant
footsteps in a seemingly-abandoned asylum - Anise's chance of success is now 65
they'll need to roll against one of their skills or (Handyman 45 + 10 + 10). She rolls a 52.
attributes to see whether that action 1s Her improvised support wobbles, but
successful or not. she's ready for that, and she's asked a
friend to keep an eye on it. Job done!
Success ( or failure) is measured as follows.

• Successes hap pen when the player rolls a

number that is equal to or lower than the skill DESIGN NOTE
in question.
Advantages lend colour and flavour to
dice rolls. They allow players to feel
Anise's car blows a tyre on a desert reflected in the narrative. And they
road. She has a spare wheel, but no jack, address a long-standing issue with rating
and a Handyman skill of 45. She rolls a skills from 1 to 100. It's intuitive and it's
42. This means she's successfully simple, but 45 in Handyman means
improvised support and changed the Anise will fail most of the time even
wheel. though she's quite proficient. If you let
players benefit from advantages, it feels
• Failures happen when the player rolls a interesting rather than unfair if they fail
number that's higher than the skill in anyway.
question. Failures h appen in a way that means
you 're stymied... u ntil circumstances change.
For example, failing a Bamboozle roll in a • Disadvantages lower your chance of
government office means you can't keep su ccess. A kibitzing fr iend who won't shut up
rolling until your listener is convinced, but when you're trying to concentrate is a
you might be able to come back the next day disadvantage. Working hastily against the clock
with a different tack and try again. is a disadvantage. Trying to persu ade someone
who doesn't trust you, or you've jilted, is a
disadvantage. Fo r every disadvantage that
Anise's car blows a tyre on a desert applies, you r chance of su ccess drops by 10% .
road. She has a spare wheel, but no jack, So for every disadvantage that applies, -10 to
and a Handyman skill of 45. She rolls a the number so meone has to roll under to
52. Her improvised support collapses! su cceed.
She's going to be walking from here.
Each disadvantage cancels out one advantage.
-10 + 10 = O!
• Advantages raise you r chance of success.
Helpful advice is an advantage. Taki ng all
the time you n eed is an advantage. Trying to

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Anise's car blows a tyre on a desert Anise's car blows a tyre on a desert
road. She has a spare wheel, but no jack, road. She has a spare wheel, but no jack,
and a Handyman skill of 45. She's in a and a Handyman skill of 45. She rolls a
terrible hurry because a sandstorm's just 55. Her improvised support collapses at
hit. That's two disadvantages, but her the worst moment, and the car falls on
companions roll up their sleeves and her leg. Her companions drag her out,
help - an advantage which cancels out but they're going to have to carry her
one disadvantage. Her chance of success from here.
is 35% (45 - 10 - 10 + 10). She rolls a 42.
Buffeted by the storm, she lurches
against the car and her improvised • 01 ("God is Winking") is always an
support collapses! They're not going astonishing success. 1/100 (00 D % + 01 DlO )
anywhere. is the best possible number you can roll.

• 00 ("The Devil is Watching" ) is always

DESIGN NOTE a dreadful failure. This is true even for rolls
on speciality skills ( see 'Specialities' o n p age
Don't get hung up on how big or small 9). 100/100 (00 D % + 00 D lO ) is the worst
an individual disadvantage ( or an possible nu mber you can roll.
advantage) is. Two people yelling at the
player? -10 penalty. Four people yelling CONTENDING WITH OTHERS
at a player? -10 penalty. Is a sandstorm
or a monsoon or an earthquake more D on't worry about exact degrees of su ccess.
distracting? They're all -10 penalties, Su ccesses and astonishing successes: th at's
though if you're in a collapsing building, all you need. But what if someone's in
that's probably another penalty. This contention with another player, or another
isn't a simulation. It's just a way to N PC? Arm-wrestling, perhaps, or chas ing
connect the system to player narrative. someo ne down a street?

Whoever would norm ally roll for each

• Astonishing successes happen when the character rolls agai nst th e relevant skill
p layer succeeds and also rolls a double (11, (P hysique for arm-wres tli ng, for example)
22, 33... ) . It might be a moment of inspiration, and ap plies the following rules:
or it might be a stroke of good fortune. It's
always something unusually welcome. • A failure beats a dreadful failure

• A success beats a failure

Anise's car blows a tyre on a desert
road. She has a spare wheel, but no jack, • An astonishing success beats a success
and a Handyman skill of 45. She rolls a
33. She not only succeeds, but a • In tie-breakers, the lowest number always
travelling car mechanic happens along wins.
the road just as she's fixed the problem
and is so impressed he offers her a job
on the spot. Anise is trying to score points in a
conversation at a cocktail party about an
obscure author. She has Widely-Read 40
• Dreadful failures h ap pen when the player and her rival has Widely-Read 30. She
fails and also rolls a double. It m ight be a rolls 39. Her rival rolls 29. These are
m istake, or it might be bad luck. It's always both successes, so it's a tie-break: her
something dramatically awful. rival's 29 beats her 39 and wins. But if
she'd rolled a 33, she'd have referenced
an unpublished version of the text and
said something truly groundbreaking.

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What if both parties roll God is Winking or VEI LED ROLLS

The Devil is Watching? This does happen
one time in ten thousand, so it'll probably Sometimes a player may need to make a roll
happen to at least one person who plays this but shouldn't immediately know if it's
game. We'd better make a rule for it. successful. If they're trying to translate a
text whose exact meaning is important,
In both these cases, something extraordinary perhaps, or p erformi n g a divination. On
should happen. In both cases, the character these occasions, use a Veiled Roll.
w ith the higher skill o r attribute should
win. It works like this: the Game Runner secretly
decides before the roll ( on a whim, by
rolling odds/evens, or by a coin toss)
At the cocktail party, Anise rolls a 00, as whether the roll should stand or whether its
does her rival. Anise's Widely-Read skill digits should be reversed. T hen the p layer
is higher than her rival's. rolls as usu al. If the Game Runn er deci ded
to reverse, they should mentally swap the
Her rival claims the author wrote his player's tens and ones to determi ne th e final
last work, se t in Vienna, while he was result .
living there. Anise scoffs: obvious
nonsense! The author is painfully
ignorant of the city. She becomes aware Anise is searching an of.ice at night. Has
that her rival's gaze has strayed over her the night-watchman spotted the glimmer
shoulder. The author is standing behind of her lantern? She makes a veiled roll
her with a martini and a rueful against Scoundrel 60 and gets a 19. But
expression. "It's true, " he admits, the Game Runner secretly decided the
"Never been there." Anise has won the roll would be reversed, so it's actually a
argument resoundingly, but now has to 91 - though Anise doesn't know that yet.
extricate herself from a ghastly scene.

If the player rolls something where reversal

RE-ROLLS wouldn't make much difference (e.g. 54),
they can have some confidence in the result .
Players can choose to re-roll any skill check or If they roll a d readful failure or astonishing
dice roll using dice from the Regard of the success, then reversing it won't make any
H o urs (see 'Mechanics of the Invisible difference because it's a dou ble nu mber
World', page 10). The player chooses w hich anyway. They know if they've succeeded or
rolled die they want to re-roll, then chooses failed. (If they roll the best number
w hich die they want to use from the available possible, God is Wi nking, it can't be
pool in the Regard. reversed. Let's not be needless ly unkind .)

You can re-roll a success hoping to get an

astonishing success, but the die is removed Anise is searching an of.ice at night. Has
from the Regard if you su cceed ( even if it's the night-watchman spotted the glimmer
just another ordinary su ccess) . o f her lantern? She makes a veiled roll
against Scoundrel 60 and gets a 99. The
You can re-roll a dreadful failure hoping to get Game Runner secretly decided the roll
a success, bu t if you get a second failure, would be reversed, but that doesn't make
nothing happens. You can't turn a dreadful any difference, because the 99 means
failure into a failure : you can only turn it into she's looked out of the window and
a success or asto nishing success. At least if you found the night-watchman s taring right
get a failure on a re-roll, the die is returned to back at her.
the Regard.

A roll can only be re-rolled once. O therwise,

that would be a re-re-roll, or a re-re-re-roll,
and that just sounds like mice.

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HOW TO PLAY
Simply put: players pick a character, explore a The Law of FATE.
situation, and roll dice when they do things. It
works like this: The Game Runner's decision is final. This
means YOU decide, using your own skill and
• The Game Runner tells players where they judgement, these rules and sometimes the
are and what's going on. Regard of the Hours (see page 11).

• Players tell the Game Runner what they

want to do. They might describe their
actions, or they might speak in character.

• The Game Runner determines what

happens ( often with the assistance of rules
and dice rolls) and then tells players what
happens.

• Repeat until you reach the end of the

session!

THE MOST IMPORTANT RULES ARE ...

The Law of CHANCE.

Use dice rolls to determine outcomes. The

higher the % roll, the worse for the person
rolling. The lower, the better. (If the person
rolling is the Game Runner, that means the
NPC or the player they're rolling for.)

A relaxed group can run the entire experience

with 'low means good, high means bad'. (If
you do that, though, you'll miss out on some
of the flavour we've baked into these rules.)

The Law of LICENSE.

The rules serve the group. The group

doesn't serve the rules. If no one likes a rule,
throw it away. If no one remembers a rule
until later, that's okay. In case of dispute, use...

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SETTING UP

The Lady Afterwards is designed to be a

roughly three-session scenario, though you
can break it up into shorter sessions or
combine three sessions into one epic marathon
if you and your group prefer.

There's a lot more detail and a full checklist in

The Game Runner's Guide, but here's what
you need to do just before you start playing a
Secret Histories scenario.

• Everyone apart from the Game Runner

picks a character and puts on the
corresponding character pin. Start playing
mood music! (If you own a copy of The Lady
Afterwards, you have access to "Midnight in
Alexandria", an excellent 1920s playlist on
Spotify.)

• Everyone apart from the Game Runner fills

•
in their character sheets. The Game Runner
spreads all artefacts invitingly on the table,
face down.

• Everyone - including the Game Runner! -

builds the Regard of the Hours.

• The Game Runner lights the Serapeum

candle and begins the game...

Feel free to be creative. The Secret Histories

are much more about story and experience
than following the letter of the law. There's a
lot of lore and detail, but bend the game as
much as you like so your specific group has
fun.

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CREATING CHARACTERS
"What we are is what we were, multiplied by what we've done. That's just mathematics."
- Christopher Illopoly

There are eight characters to choose from:

DESIGN NOTE
The Aspirant, a lonely, disenchanted
academic A player is a real human who rolls
polyhedral dice. A character is fictional,
The Bright Young Thing, a charming though usually also human, and doesn't
and wealthy aristocrat roll dice. Players decide what their
characters do. The Game Runner decides
The Physician, a respectable doctor what non-player characters (NPCs) do.
with a dream We've used the terms 'player' and
'character' very casually, though, and
The Detective, an inspector in the you'll find that you do, too.
London Metropolitan Police

The Dancer, a beautiful but penniless ATTRIBUTES •

performer
• Physique: how strong you are, how far
The Priest, a successful preacher with you can swim, how well you can climb, how
mystic tendencies far you can throw... Also used to determine
tnJunes.
The Medium, a notorious spiritualist
who may communicate with the dead • Dexterity: how deft you are, how high you
can jump, how easily you can dodge, how
The Exile, a criminal trying to outrun accurately you can throw... Also used to
their past determine who goes first in combat.

Every character has 400 points to distribute • Intelligence: how clever you are, how
throughout their list of skills as they see fit. quickly you read, how deductive your
Encourage players to pick skills that are reasoning, and how much you observe.
interesting or reflect the character they're
building, rather than ones they think will be • Determination: your grit, mental tenacity
useful in a TRPG! and resistance to the occult. Also used to
determine your capacity to continue despite
There's space on each character sheet for injury (though this comes at a cost).
players to make up new skills if they really
want them and the Game Runner agrees it • Fascination: exposure to the wonders of
makes sense (yes to 'Trombone', for example, the occult world can brighten the mind and
but probably no to 'Laser Beam Death Dance' spirit. This road leads through illumination
or 'Talking in Cat'). and inspiration to insanity. How far down this
road are you?
Skills and attributes are all out of 100. You
can't change your attributes at the start of the • Dread: exposure to the horrors of the
game, and you can't raise a skill higher than occult world can darken the mind and spirit.
80. The only way to improve a skill higher Brave souls can draw grim determination from
than 80 is through playing the game (see this, but even the bravest eventually succumb
'Improving Skills and Attibutes' on page 9). to despair. How far down this road are you?

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cross-breeding poppies to make opium, or just

DESIGN NOTE growing really tasty carrots.

You,ll find Intelligence ends up being • Knife-Fig hting: skill using knives and
the default roll for many actions. But it's bladed weapons, like flick-knives, bayonets,
dull using the same skill check over and machetes or the humble scalpel. Think Bishop
over, so encourage players to use specific from Aliens.
skills whenever if they can. Only resort
to Intelligence if there,s really nothing • Lang uages: in The Lady Afterwards, this
else to use! is knowledge of Arabic, French or Greek. A
skill of 20 means basic proficiency (you could
order coffee without a skill check); 50 means
Social skills. intermediate (you could ask directions without
a skill check); 80 means fluent (you cou ld hold
• Allure: beau ty is a weapon. How skilled a w h ole conversation without a skill check) .
are you at using it?
• Mariner: sailing, rigging, navigation,
• Bamboozle: unleash a torrent of confident, vessel knowledge, sw1mmmg when you
vaguely coherent sentences, brook no inevitably fall in... ( "There is nothing -
interruption, and people will agree to absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing
anything just to make you stop! as simply messing about in boats.")

• Blend: become part of the background and • Medicine: knowledge of early twentieth-
avoid suspicion by fitting in with groups and centu ry medical practice, from domestic
situations around you. poultices to ground breaking clinical
procedures.
• N egotiate: coax a reasonable compromise
out of any situation. Sometimes words are • Pharmacist: knowledge of natural and
enough; sometimes money helps. chemical medicines and how to make them,
from hot lemon and honey for sore throats to
• Stagecraft: give 'em the old razzle dazzle! crushing pearls, ambergris and musk into
Command your audience, whether it's home-brewed lau danum.
theatre-goers, a church congregation or
astonished sunbathers watching you give the • Sco undrel: how skilled you are at
kiss of life to a near-drowned swimmer. lockpicking, p ick-pocketing, sneaking and
other dubious activities.
Practical skills.
• Scuffle: the ability to brawl, manhandle or
• D emo lition: knowledge of explosives, fight without weaponry. Not terribly
from fireworks to Orsini bombs, most likely gentlemanly, but who cares when it's the
from experience in the Great War. (NB: this is gentleman who gets the black eye?
not a combat skill. No lobbing Molotov
cocktails at people! They haven't been invented • Shooting: skill with gu ns like pistols, rifles
yet, anyway.) and shotguns. You might be a talented police
marksman or just really good at hu nting
• Drive: it's 1920-something, so most people grouse.
don't have cars and driving tests don't exist.
Most people don't know how to control these • Track: the ability to find and trace objects,
newfangled machines. Do you? animals and people from the signs they leave
behind.
• H andyman: the ability to fix, alter or build
things with limited resources. MacGyver, eat • Widely -Read: you've acquired a broad
your heart out. swathe of general knowledge from being a
decided bookworm. You're intellectually
• Ho rticulture: knowledge of plants, omnivorous, and you probably use your
whether that's propagating Venus fly traps, factoids and trivia to impress people at parties.

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Occult skills. they know. The questionnaire should form the

backbone of players' roleplaying, and will
• Bright Arts: knowledge of light, wisdom, hopefully make them laugh! Give everyone
dreams, higher states of being and time to fill this in - it'll really help during the
illumination of the soul. Too much makes one game, and get everyone in a 1920s mood.
see too clearly and forget the real world.
The Game Runner should incorporate players'
• Night Arts: knowledge of things in the answers to their character questionnaires when
world that should not be, and things beyond roleplaying NPC conversation. It'll give the
the world that should never, ever enter it. Too game flavour, and make each interaction feel
much oppresses the mind and haunts the soul, unique.
leaving only existential horror.
For The Lady Afterwards, the Game Runner
SPECIALITIES should particularly note each player's greatest
fear...
Each character has three specialities, skills
that are particularly important to them. These
are marked with asterisks on their character
sheets. Specialities can never be dreadful
failures - if players roll one on a speciality, it's
just a normal failure.
•
IMPROVING SKILLS AND ATTRIBUTES

The highest a skill or attribute can be before

playing is 80 out of 100, but players will grow
over each game.

At the end of a scenario, the Game Runner

should ask each player to recall a time during
the game where they did something
particularly impressive (like rolling God is
Winking under pressure) or when they felt
they learnt something from an experience (like
attempting to climb a roof after drinking too
much, falling, and breaking both their legs).
Identify the appropriate skill or attribute
involved and add 5 to it, permanently.

CHARACTER POSSESSIONS

On the front of each character sheet is a list of

personal possessions. Players can add to this
list when creating their character, provided the
Game Runner assents. They can also find or
purchase items during a game which can be
added to their list of possessions. Players
should write anything down on their character
sheet that they acquire.

CHARACTER QUESTIONNAIRES

On the back of each character sheet is a

character questionnaire, encouraging players
to flesh out their characters a little more than
how clever they are or how many languages

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· M.ECHANICS OF THE INVISIBLE WORLD

c'The invisible arts are as profitable as macrame, as ethical as tobacco-smuggling, and in
general as beneficial as roulette. Still, there is always the Orchard of Lights."
- Christopher Illopoly
I

THE CHART OF DAYS travel, death and silence and the Worms from
Nowhere. They're linked to the character
Every day has its rhythm: dawn, noon, sunset, attribute of Dread, the terror and horror of
midnight. But there are o ther rhythms, too. the occult world.
Every day there are Times of Power, hours
when the skin of the world is thinnest and The Bright Arts are more appealing - but not
occult things are more likely to break through. necessarily safer - than the Night Arts.
Mapping Times of Power onto daily rhythms
creates a Chart of Days, which looks like this: There are no rules here for summoning or
curses or other full-on adeptry. We might
publish some, some day. Until then - or unless
♦. rtUu:»ai0n you write your own - your players are dabblers
Time of Power
and scholars. They can be Van Helsings but
NOON
e,yb~ not Jonathan Stranges or Morgan le Fays. So
these skills represent general, scholarly and
pM,CUi& theoretical knowledge of the invisible world
;WTL.W & and its traditions. Players with these skills can:
f l ~~ • recognise an occult trace or sign
DAWN -~=-------=~If-- DUSK
Time of + I ,'++ Time of • understand an occult reference
Power + \\ I Power
' ,.... ,"' / • attempt a divination

• attempt protections against occult threats

MIDNIGHT
Time of Power
Divination attempts - cards, mirror-trances,
looking in the ink-bowl need to be
1}/ULld~
supported by character backgrounds. A totally
prosaic plumber can't suddenly see their
The Lady Afterwards takes place over three future in tea leaves, but a carnival tarot card
full days, so there are three Charts of Days in reader who regularly dreams strange dreams
the Game Runner's Journal. Use and annotate probably can. Divination attempts should
it to keep track of players' Fascination and always be Veiled Rolls, and they should
Dread (see 'Perils Spiritual' on page 18), and provide hints and clues, not outright truths.
to remind yourself to make time for players to And beware: a successful divination attempt is
plan, discuss the events of the day and dream always an advantage for anyone else looking
their twilight sleep... for the player through occult means.

THE BRIGHT ARTS & THE NIGHT ARTS Protections against occult threats should also
be veiled rolls. If a player's trying to set up
The Bright Arts are knowledge of mysticism, protection against a sophisticated attacker, a
alchemy, and the struggles and desires of the success on a Bright Arts or Night Arts roll
secret gods. They're linked to the character means a disadvantage on the attacker's roll.
attribute of Fascination, an unhealthy fixation
on the wonders of the occult world. If the player's trying to keep a summoning or
a h aunting spmt or a prowling night-beast
The Night Arts are knowledge of dream- away, make contending rolls (relevant Bright

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Arts or Night Arts skill versus the spirit's p layers may decide to remin isce abou t their
Determination or relevant skill). If the player childhoods or vis it graveyards. If there are
wins, the thing's kept o ut of the protected fi ve d ice on the Red Gra il, someon e 1s
space for a day and a night. If the thing wins, probably getti ng laid - or mu rdered.
the protection doesn't work. The p layer can
try again tomorrow, but they won't know that If you don't know much abou t the H o u rs,
the protection has failed ("O ops, missed a bit or if you're us ing a traditional tarot deck,
with the chalk circle!") u ntil it's too late ... th at's fine. Decide what the illu strations
mean to you and react to that. And if you
THE REGARD OF THE HOURS have comp li cated esoteric opinions on tarot
generally, go nu ts!
The Secret Histories take place under the
inscrutable gaze o f the Hou rs, a loose The O p e r ations of the Regard .
pantheon of h idden gods who determine
everything that o ccu rs and exists. Game 4. Sometimes, a player will roll a die and
Runners would be wise to acknowledge them. get a result they don't like (usually, a
failure) . If a Regard card looks related to
Building the Regard. w hat they were trying to do, they can
re-roll, once per roll, using one of the dice
1. Place three Major Arcana cards face up from that card.
on the table. D raw three cards at random
fro m your deck, or select three that are If you're trying to find your way out of the
relevant to the evening's entertainment. For desert, the Vagabond card is relevant. If
The Lady Afterwards, we recommend picking you 're trying to u nlock a door, th e Door in
the Door in the Eye, the Lionsmith and the the Eye is relevant. If you 're trying not to
Sun-in-Rag s from the Tarot of the Hou rs. drown, the Me niscate could be relevant -
th ere's water on the card, after all.

Kenzo is looking after a rare orchid. His

Horticulture is 70, but he rolls a 98. If
he lets this stand he'll probably sit on it
by accident or set it on .ire. But the
Mare-in-the-Tree is in the Regard, and
she looks pretty plant-y. She'd probably
have an interest in the orchid's survival.

The Game Runner agrees, so Kenzo

2. In turn, e ach player puts one of the takes one of the dice from that card and
seven dice on one of the cards. The more re-rolls his D%. He rolls a 3, making his
dice on a card, the more engaged that H o ur final Horticulture roll 38. A success! He
is. There must be at least one die on each carefully waters the orchid, and it
card. A legitimate way - in fact, perhaps the glistens happily in the sun.
best way - for players to decide how many dice
to put on which card is: which illustrations
look most fun? If another p layer ( or the Game Run ner)
th in ks the connection looks too tenuous, a
3. The cards and the dice together are the majority vote of the players determines
Regard: the interest that these secret gods whether it's allowed. Don't overrule this
have taken in the players' business. vote: let th em have thei r fun.

The G ame Runner and the players can u se this 5. If the roll is a success, the die is
as theme and inspiration. If there's a die on pe rmanently removed from that card. If the
the Fo rge o f D ays card, you might expect to roll is a failure, the die remains on the card
ru n across a watchmaker, or an instance of and nothing happens. The attention of the
arson. If there are two dice on th e Elegiast, Hour is waning.

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If all dice are removed from a card, the card is Renewing the Regard.
removed from the Regard. The Hour has lost
interest, and is no longer thematically relevant. 7. Every day at dusk you can draw and
place a new card in the Regard. Populate it
This does mean that a single greedy player with any dice that have been removed from
could burn through all dice in the Regard. the Regard.
This is ill-mannered, and it would be perfectly
reasonable to vote down their more tenuous If there haven't been any re-rolls, take a die off
attempts at connection. But we imagine you the card with the highest numerical value.
and your group have the wisdom and restraint
not to let it get that far. This means there can be more than three cards
in the Regard, though there can never be a
6. The player can choose which dice to card with zero dice on it.
use and which roll to replace. This applies
even if the roll was originally made with a The newcomer affects the theme in the same
different kind of die. way that the existing cards did. The Game
Runner may also decide that something
Say you're making a roll against a skill of 50 specific happens when a particular card is
and you roll 51. It's entirely legitimate to drawn. The landlord drops by for their rent,
re-roll the tens die with a D4, in which case for example - or someone has a heart attack.
the highest you can roll would be 41 and you .
can't fail. That would mean the D4 is If it's nearly dusk and there are lots of dice left
removed, of course, and when you really need in the Regard, now might be the time to use
a roll to succeed you might be stuck re-rolling those re-rolls so you get them back when the
the D20. next card arrives. On the other hand, if the
next card turns out to be the Lionsmith and
If you re-roll a different kind of die and get an you need re-rolls for stealth or etiquette, you
absurdly high result - for example, you roll a might regret it.
61 on a skill check, re-roll the tens die with a
D20 and get an 18 for a final result of 181 -
then that result should stand, and the Game
Runner can interpret it as something
godawful.

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PERILS MARTIAL, OR 'COMBAT'

We encourage a light-touch approach with you .ix it. You've dropped your knife
game rules, and if you've read this far, you're and need to snatch it up. Or you've
probably into that. But what do you do when caromed into a wall and need to get
players start falling off things or getting shot? you r breath back. You can take a
Systems support the Game Runner in making defensive action if there's a reasonable
decisions that everyone enjoys and way you could combine that with
understands. But we don't want to ossify the fixing the problem - like a dive and
exciting stuff under a thick coating of rules. So grab to get your knife back - but that
these rules are minimal and designed to work will always need a roll. See below.
quickly.
AVOIDING GETTING HURT
The Secret Histories are not combat-oriented.
But now and then, someone will misbehave. If someone's throwing bottles at you, what do
you do? Hide behind the bar, or fling yourself
WHO GOES FIRST? to the floor, or shout at them?

Once people start misbehaving, everyone acts You can use your action to defend yourself.
in order of Dexterity, highest first. (Though if This is at least one disadvantage to assailants,
someone, or a grou p of someones, gets the and might be more than one.
drop on someone else, they all get to act once
before the ambushees react. They also get an You can always give your attacker one
advantage on their rolls.) disadvantage by simply making a nuisance of
yourself. But if you want to give your foe
HURTING SOMEONE more than one disadvantage, you'll need to
su ggest what you're trying to do to the Game
If you want to hurt someone, roll against a Runner and then roll against Dexterity or a
relevant skill: that's Shooting for guns, relevant skill. Here's what can happen:
Knife-Fighting for sharp things and Scuffle if
you 're punching someone. Or trying to hit S: your attacker suffers whatever
them with a table. disadvantages agreed with the Game
Runner. ( Some of these may last
Advantages and disadvantages apply. If your beyond your next action - for example,
target's at point-blank range, that's an if you've dived behind cover.)
advantage. If your target's standing stock still,
that's another advantage. If they're hiding F: something's gone wrong. The bar
behind a bar or falling off a cliff, that's a was further away than you thou ght, or
disadvantage. H ere's how it works: you 've tripped. But your attacker keeps
the one disadvantage th ey had before.
Success: you injure your target. See
'Injuries' (overleaf). AS: the same outcome as a normal
success, but you can also use this
Failure: you haven't injured your action to attack someone. Dive
target. through the air guns blazing, that sort
of thing.
Astonishing Success: you IOJure your
target, and you can immediately take DF: something bad has happened and
another action against them ( as long as you can't attack until you .ix it. This is
it's plausible). Perhaps they've dropped the same outcome as a dreadful failure
their gu ard, or panicked, or rolled out when attacking, though when avoiding
of cover. getting hurt your attacker still keeps
the one disadvantage they had before.
Dreadful Failure: something bad has
happened and you can't attack until

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INJURIES
DESIGN NOTE
When someone hurts you, roll Physique.
In practice, this will usually mean that a Advantages and disadvantages apply. Armou r
defensive action is worth two isn't really a th ing in the 1920s, but if
disadvantages if successful and one if you're weari ng a tin h elmet o r a buc ket
not. This should discourage players from w h ile peeking out of a w indow, that's an
simply standing in front of something advantage. If you 've come off a motorbike
and shooting, and encourage interesting wearing leathers, th at's also an advantage.
choices and combos, like diving out of
the way and cutting a nearby rope to H ere's what can happe n:
bring the curtain down on someone.
Who doesn't want to do that? S: you suffer an injury. T he Game
Runner suggests somethi ng
appropriate and players write it on
STOPPING SOMEONE ELSE GETTING HURT their character sheet.

You can also take a defensive actio n to F: you suffer an injury, and are
protect someone else - usually a distraction downed ( see next page).
("OVER H ERE, C H UMP!"). The attacker
gets a single disadvantage automatically. Any . AS: the injury is superficial ("Just a
additional disadvantages have to be specific: flesh wound!"). It doesn't have any
Anise sings tauntingly; Freddie tries to snatch mechanical effects, and doesn't need to
the gun; Colchis yanks the rug. Those could be written down on you r character
be another three disadvantages. sheet.

CONTENDING WITH AN OPPONENT D F: you suffer an injury and are

downed, but nothing else hap pens.
If you 've squared u p against someone in a You 're having a bad enough day
straightforward test of skill - fe ncing or already. If an N P C gets a dreadful
boxing, perhaps - it'll be simpler and quicker failure, they suffer death, paralysis or
to use the rules for Conte nding w ith Others something else disastrous. (This is the
(page 3) . T h e loser in each paired roll takes an scene in the film where someone trips
injury, u nless both parties fail on their rolls. backward and bangs their head leth ally
Then nobody gets injured, becau se both on the coffee table.)
parties basically fell over.
Eve ry untreated injury is an automatic
PASS! disadvantage on every roll you make. If the
injury is particularly relevant to something
Keep the tempo up! If p layers aren't sure you're doing, that's an extra disadvantage.
w hat's going o n o r who's where - whether
because the Game Ru nner has been vague or
because players were thinking about tea w hen Anise has a Gashed Hand and a Twisted
the situation was described - players shou ld Ankle. That's two disadvantages to every
just say ' Pass!' when their turn comes. roll she makes. If she tries to pick a
lock, that's three disadvantages (she
' Pass!' reserves your actio n and allows you to really needs a good hand). If she tries to
act defensively at any point before your next climb a tree, that's four disadvantages
turn. If someone goes after you with a cudgel, (she really needs her hand and ankle).
you can use your passed action to act
defensively against them, there and then. (You
can only act defensively, though. You can't The Game Ru nner decides on the specific
attack anyone.) inju ry gained. If you're peering o ut of a
window and get shot, that's probably a
Wounded Arm. If the answer isn't obvious,
look at the Regard and see if any relevant body

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parts are prominent. The Wolf-Divided might advantage. Old equipment 1s a disadvantage.
mean .a chest wound and the Vagabond might
mean a hand wound. (If you use a Regard Here's what can happen:
card to help determine a wound> start with the
leftmost card and use the next along each time. S: if the injured character was
That>ll make sure not everyone gets the same downed> they can act again. The injury
injury.) is successfully treated and no longer
counts as a general disadvantage. But
If you>re downed> you can>t do anything until it>s still a disadvantage if the injured
the fight is over. But every time your turn to character uses that body part.
act comes round> you can roll Determination
to act anyway - with a disadvantage for each F: if the injured character was
injury. Here>s what could happen if you X downed> they can act again. But the
choose to do this: effects of injuries are unchanged.
Someone can roll Medical on the same
S: you can take an action> but you injury again if the situation changes
suffer another injury> which you need (like better supplies> or you arrive at a
to roll Physique for (with a hospital).
disadvantage for each existing injury).
These secondary injuries will be things AS: if the injured character was
like Blood Loss or Wound Torn Open. downed> they can act again. The injury
no longer applies any penalties> even
F: you suffer another injury> as above, when using that body part! Perhaps it
and can>t act this time. wasn't as bad as it looked.

AS: you can act this time> and don>t DF: if the injured character was
take another injury. downed> they>re still downed. All
untreated injuries are unchanged as if
DF: you suffer another injury> as you>d failed a roll for each of them.
above> and can>t act for the rest of the ( So if you roll a success for one injury
fight. and then a dreaful failure on another>
the first injury remains treated and the
In short> if you succeed, you can act. But injured player is no longer downed -
unless you roll an astonishing success> you get but all other injuries and associated
another injury. disadvantages remain.)

GETTING FIXED UP
DESIGN NOTE
Once the fight is over - permanently or
temporarily> like if everyone>s crouched behind This is not a realistic system and not
an overturned car ducking occasional potshots medical advice. If someone kicks you in
- injured characters can benefit from medical the head, for god's sake go to a hospital!
attention.

At this point> an injured player should agree HEALING

with the Game Runner whether any of their
injuries are minor> like Bruised> or Blow to Every morning after you were injured> roll
the Head> or Thorn-Scratched. Minor injuries Physique. Bed rest is an advantage. An
are always successfully treated> and always uninterrupted night>s sleep with no bad
disappear entirely the following morning. You dreams is another advantage. A helpful friend
don't need to roll. Minor injuries are never nursing you is an advantage. Good medical
fatal. supplies are another advantage.

For serious> non-minor injuries> roll Injuries do not count as disadvantages

Medicine once per rnJury. Advantages and when rolling Physique to heal. Here>s what
disadvantages apply. Peace and quiet is an can happen:

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S: remove one injury of your choice. In all o th er circumstances, player characters

.Cross it off your character sheet. and NPCs should live. There's enough death
in the world without manufacturing more.
F: nothing happens.
EXAMPLE OF COMBAT

AS: remove two injuries of your

choice. Cross them off your character Freddie, second trombonist for the
sheet. London Symphony Orchestra, is
rehearsing for The Magic Flute when a
DF: one of your injuries has a cheetah inexplicably falls into the
p ermanent effect: a scar, for example, orchestra pit immediately next to him.
or a limp. Permanently reduce an
attribute or skill by 5: Shooting for an The cheetah would have the drop on
inju red gun h and, Allure for a facial everyone, but she's fallen from a
scar, Physique for a damaged lu ng. sufficient height that she's initially
This injury no longer applies a general stunned. She spends her first action
disadvantage on rolls, but will remain getting over that, but she still has a
on your character sheet for good. Dexterity of 90 and Freddie's is only 40
- so she'll get to act before he does.

DESIGN NOTE Fortunately, the orchestra is reacting by

erupting into screams and throwing
These healing rules are intentionally down their instruments. The cheetah is
unrealistic, especially if you have some unnerved. (Practical narrative overrides
re-rolls banked. They're designed to rules. No-one in the orchestra has a
keep injuries narratively relevant but also Dexterity better than 90, but they're not
to justify characters getting out of bed standing around waiting for the cheetah
and getting on with it. Even then, it to act.) Tail lashing, the unnerved
won't hurt for the Game Runner to be cheetah chooses: Pass!
generous: "We forgot to roll, but it's
been a few days and you're basically all Freddie acts. He has enough presence of
right now." No-one hates hearing that. mind to thwop the cheetah on the head
with his trombone. The cheetah uses its
reserved action to scramble backwards
DEATH behind the percussion section. It rolls
89 against its Dexterity of 90, so Freddie
There are three ways to die in the Secret has two disadvantages on his attack roll:
Histories system. the standard one for the cheetah making
a nuisance of herself, and a second one
1. If an NPC suffers a dre adful failure on a for the intervening kettle drum. The
Physique roll when injured, they die. Game Runner adds a third disadvantage
for all the running and screaming
2. If a player character has injuries that aren't happening around him.
successfully treated and they exert themselves
dangerously, the Game Ru nner should warn The Game Runner does, however, allow
them. If they don't heed the warning, the Freddie to use his Trombone skill of 72
Game Runner should have them make a for the attack roll, as long as he takes a
Physique roll ( withou t p enalties). If that fails, fourth disadvantage for using an
they're downed and will die u nless they get improvised weapon. With four
immediate successful medical attention. disadvantages (4 x -10), he needs to roll
a 32 or under. He rolls a 34...
3. If an N PC or p layer character has an
experience that would unequivocally kill them ... but there's a D4 sitting on the Forge
- someone cuts off th eir head, o r they're fed to of Days in the Regard of the Hours.
some hungry sharks.

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that's not a disadvantage o n your attacker's

Freddie points out that the Forge would Scuffle roll - they simply can't pu nch you
probably take an interest in brass anymore. (They could tip the wardrobe over
instruments, and the Game Runner on top of you, tho ugh, if they're Pyrrhic
agrees. Freddie re-rolls the 4 from his enough. )
34 and gets a 2, for a final result of 32.
As the roll was successful, the D4 is The Law of RESOLUTION.
removed from the Regard.
Fights should escalate and then resolve a
Freddie's hit the cheetah, which now tense situation. End them as soon as you can.
needs to make a roll against its Physique H ave enemies negotiate or jump th rou gh
of 90. Fortunately, it's already Dazed windows. Have nuns or taxi drivers wander in.
from the fall - one disadvantage to its H ave something catch fire - that tends to focu s
roll - and the Game Runner agrees with m inds.
Freddie that Dazed is specifically
relevant to the cheetah's Physique
because Freddie's just thwopped it on
the head. That's two disadvantages (2 x
-10) so the cheetah needs to roll 70 or
under. It rolls an 87: a failure. The
cheetah collapses, injured and
incapacitated. •
If the cheetah had rolled an 88, that
would have been a dreadful failure and
the poor beast would have been killed
stone dead. But it's survived, and its
injuries are minor. It'll come round with
a headache.

(For everyone's peace of mind, the cheetah is

immediately revived by its owner, given a big
h ug and fed Delecto Cheetah Tasties™, its
favourite treat. )

FINAL GUIDANCE

The Law of LIGHTNING.

Keep the tempo up! Don't let conversation

get bogged down into discussions about
tactics. If something's unclear, roll the dice,
move on, and make it clear next time. The
Pass! rule is designed to keep p lay flowing
without disadvantaging p layers who panic or
lose track of w h at's going on.

The Law of PRACTICALITY.

Narrative specifics override rules. The rules

are only there to help resolve borderline cases.
If you 're trying to shoot someone in an army
tank, sto p it. That's just silly. If someone's
trying to thump you and they climb into a
ward robe and lock the door from the inside,

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PERILS SPIRITUAL, OR 'THE OCCULT'

The invisible world has its own spiritual more than one risk of the same type. If you
equivalent of injuries. Fascination is the have an afternoon of horrible, miserable
obsession that arises from exposure to experiences, that's still only one Dread risk at
wonders, visions and the invisible light of the dusk.
Mansus. Dread is the deadening effect of
exposure to the horrors of the world, the flesh Every point of Fascination cancels out one
and the night. point of Dread and vice versa. If you have 2
Fascination and O Dread and gain 1 Dread,
GAINING FASCINATION AND DREAD you're actually left with 1 Fascination and still
0 Dread.
Certain experiences can put you At Risk of
Fascination or At Risk of Dread. If you pick up Fascination or Dread during a
relevant Time of Power, then the risk can
• Fascination: dreams of the Mansus, trigger immediately. (For our purposes, that's
profound experiences of beauty or art, certain about a five-minute stretch - about the time it
occult aggressions, successful use of the Bright takes for the sun to rise in Europe, or a couple
Arts in waking life ... of minutes before and after the stroke of
midnight.)
• Dread: dreams of the Wood, profound
experiences of horror or ugliness, certain EFFECTS
occult aggressions, successful use of the Night
Arts in waking life ... Every time a player gets a point of Fascination
or Dread, they pick an effect to go with it and
When a player's experienced something that write it down in the 'Fascination' or 'Dread'
risks them gaining either, the Game Runner columns on their character sheet. They should
should write their name next to the upcoming pick an effect based on the circumstances, their
relevant Time of Power on the current Chart character's personality and the cards in the
of Days in the Game Runner's Journal. Only Regard. The Game Runner can override if
some Times of Power give Fascination; others necessary.
give Dread.
Here are some examples - but you're not
When a Time of Power comes around, At Risk limited to these!
players roll Determination to resolve their
situations. Here's what can happen: Fascination Effects.

S: you don't gain Fascination or

Effect Description
Dread, and you're no longer At Risk.
Otherworldly Air Distracted? Or
F: you gain one point of Fascination
different?
or Dread (as appropriate), but you're
no longer At Risk.
Shining Eyes It's thrilling to
AS: you don't gain Fascination or meet your eyes
Dread, and you're no longer At Risk
of gaining either. Haunted by Always scribbling
Inspiration in a notebook
DF: you gain one point of Fascination
or Dread, and you're still At Risk.
A Future tn Your reflection's
This risk will trigger at the next Time
Mirrors other, future selves
of Power - not this one!

You can be At Risk of both Fascination and Rapturous Light Candle-flames cause
Dread at the same time, but you can't build up happy reveries

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Dread Effects.
Anise has 2 Dread. She needs help from
Effect Description an old Bame. Her Allure is 50, her
Negotiate only 30, and their old
Grim Ai r Flat > matter-of-fact connection would give her an advantage
voice if she flirted with him. Normally, then,
she'd roll for Allure. But her two points
of Dread infuse her with grim
Dead Gaze It>s difficult to meet
resignation. Her effective Allure would
your eyes
be 40 (2 x -10 for each Dread, but +10
for their romantic history). Her effective
A Mouthful of Food lacks taste; Negotiation would be 50 (2 x +10 for
. . .
Ashes mus ic is noise each Dread), so she puts aside memories
of happier times. "This is business."
The Skull Beneath People are bones>
the Skin machi n es of meat

The Wo rld is Grey It>s hard to tell DESIGN NOTE

colou rs apart
Alert readers will notice that the Dread
bonus to Determination means you're
When an effect is cancelled out - either by more likely to resist both Fascination
gaining a point of the opposite attribute or and Dread if you're affected by Dread.
losing it naturally ( see ' Losing Fascination and The reverse is true for Fascination.
D read> overleaf) - players simply cross off the
relevant effect on their character sheets and
cons ider the line blank again. OBSESSIONS

But it>s not all bad! For every poi nt of If a player ever gets to 3 Fascination or 3
Fascination or D read> players get an advantage D read , they>ll be overwhelmed by an
on some rolls ... though also a disadvantage o n obsession. This will u sually be some sort of
o thers. enthu siastic obsession in the case o f
Fascination and some sort of destructive
Fascination Dread obsession in the case of Dread. It' ll relate to
their personality, and to whatever experience
Intelligence +10 -10 tipped them over the edge.

Determination -10 +10 H ere are some examples of Fascination

obsessions:
Bright Arts +10 -10
In-game experience Resulting o bsession
Nig ht Arts -10 +10
Used the Bright Perform the r ite
Allure +10 -10 Arts to find a obsess ively! Mark
protective rite every door! Mark
Negotiate -10 +10 against a every w i ndow!
summon ing D on>t stop!
The Game Runner may want to apply other
advantages or disadvantages from Fascination Saw the sea for the Paint it> obsessively>
and D read. D read is a d isadvantage to an first time until you have a
antagonises attempt to find a Dread-affected half-dozen
character in dreams, for example. Fascination pa int ings an d you
is an advantage for someone looking for the ca n ' t bend you r
Invisible Serapeum. fingers

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Here are some examples of Dread obsessions: completed. At 5, the character becomes
incapable of rational action for at least a
In-game experience Resulting obsession year and a day.

Used the Night Find and defeat the LOSING FASCINATION AND DREAD
Arts to find a summonmg, at any
protective rite cost A suitable, meaningful and distinctive
against a experience will allow players to lose a point
summoning of Fascination or Dread.

Suitable might mean something cheering or

Was buried alive Dig up every grave uplifting for Dread, and something practical
in that cemetery - or sobering for Fascination. Worldly or
someone might still sybaritic experiences are usually good for
be in there both.

If Fascination or Dread was inflicted upon a Meaningful means not just 'dinner', but 'a
player through occult assault - for example, if really good dinner in a welcoming place you'll
someone curses them - their attacker (via the remember'. Or not just 'a chat with a friend',
Game Runner) can choose a suitable but 'a friend rolled Widely-Read to find a
obsession. poem that specifically addressed your fears'.

Distinctive means you can't do toe same thing

DESIGN NOTE over and over. Maybe that bottle of Montrachet
'67 qualified as a suitable and powerfully
This system is designed to simulate worldly experience once, but you can't keep a
narratively interesting states of occult case of it in your cellar and use it as an
confusion and spiritual injury, not actual anti-Fascination potion.
mental illness. In particular, we'd urge
you not to allow suicidal obsessions. You can use a suitable, meaningful and
One, it's a quick way to put a character distinctive experience to annul your At Risk
out of commission without many status, too. If you've just been rescued from a
countermeasures. Two, it can really live burial in the morning and don't want to
upset people. worry about Dread risk at sunset, feel free to
go to Mass now to remove the risk.

Obsession ends if: Remember the Law of LICENSE: 'The rules

serve the group. The group doesn't serve
• the player's Fascination or Dread drops the rules.' The Perils Spiritual system is
below 3, OR intended to make contact with the invisible
world feel meaningful and perilous, but to
• it stops being relevant. If a player's mm1mise the amount of time characters
obsession insisted they burned down a actually get out of control.
particular house and they did, for instance.
At this point they'll also lose a point of If you don't want to get into details, the key
Fascination or Dread (whichever was thing is: give people Fascination for some
causing their particular obsession). kinds of experience, Dread for others, and
have it bake their noodles if either hits 3.
If you've played Cultist Simulator, you'll know
that getting to 3 Dread or Fascination is
GAME OVER. We're more generous here
because it's not an experimental
quasi-roguelike video game. But here's an
optional rule if you want to play more like
Cultist Simulator: at 4, obsessions become
something more general that can't be

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THE INVISIBLE WORLD: A GLOSSARY

'Wothing is true. Everything is permitted." - Hasan-i-Sabbah

'Wothing is a place. Everything ends." - Solomon Rusher

'Wothing is certain. Everything is useful." - Arabella Dusk

"It is permitted for us to know; it is not permitted for you. Don't write that down."
- Inspector Zachary Wakefield

"Everything, no Doubt, is true in some History somewhere. This is a Matter of Interest to

Scholars, but at this Moment bath Brandy its Price, as Tea, and I have learnt not to raise
Scholarly Matters with Tradesmen in Practical Discussion." - Lord Franklin Bancroft

ALUKITE Debased ( a few would say 'ascended') Long "Hokobald complains of his
driven by cannibalistic appetites. Alukites are condemnation by the Ordo Limiae.
said not to blink; to have monstrous shapes He acknowledges that he has
concealed by the arts of the skin; to be able to 'undergone alterations' after the
fly; to have a strength unmatched by all but 'consummation of that particular
Forge-long. This may not be universally true, delight', but insists that these
but they're universally bad news. changes are both elegant and
inevitable. 'Who is the .ire, and who
Also called soucouyants, or empousai. the fuel?' he asks, rhetorica//y."

ASPECTS The most fundamental elements of reality; or, "Each Hour has its colour. Each
the various natures of the Hours; or, a flame has its fuel."
post-facto invention of scholars of the invisible
arts.

THE BOUNDS Those places that are not exactly in the world "Here in the high dry byways of the
nor out of it. The Invisible Serapeum is Bounds are the intricate fissures and
arguably in the Bounds, but it depends on who snares of ten thousand years of
you ask. time."

THE CRIME OF When a Long becomes pregnant by another "Damaon speculates on the
THE SKY Long, then father and mother are both seized horrifying possibility of Hours
by a desire to devour the child once it's born. turned alukite. 'What then would
If this happens, they turn alukite. they devour?"'

EDGE The aspect of battle, struggle, strength, "These are the arts that ensure an
cunning. "All conquest occurs at the Edge." ending."

FORGE The aspect of transformation, destruction, "Fire is the winter that warms and
strength, ingenuity. the spring that consumes."

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THE GLORY A source of something like light, somewhere "It's always possible to be deader.
above the Mansus. The source of all thought? The Watchman goes before; none
A blazing cosmic wound? God? A door from but seven may go after. Yet surely
somewhere else? It engenders inspiration and we are born to the Glory, as the
Fascination. It makes the Mansus visible. It's sparks fly upwards."
probably very dangerous, but the Mansus is so
dangerous, especially high up, that this is
generally beside the point.

GRAIL The aspect of hunger, lust, the drowning "Some words are spelt correctly
waters; the birth and the feast. only when the proper ink is used."

HEART The aspect of life, preservation, protection and "There are common sentiments in
the drumbeat and dance that must never cease. every thunderclap."

HOURS The secret gods who live behind the world; "The seasons of famine and plenty,
said to be thirty in number. Their decisions the rum of the Earth, the
shape the world and its histories. Some rose transformations of the furnace - all
through the ranks of Know and Long and these are only the results of the
Names. Some came by their estate in a enactment of the lesser passions of
different way entirely. All are perilous, sublime, the Hours."
and inclined to suppress competition.

THE INVISIBLE Knowledge of practices that shouldn't work if "We don't say 'magic'. Magic is a
ARTS the world was actually how it seemed. But they story. Or that thing people do in
do. public, for people, with rabbits."

KNOCK The aspect of wounds and openings, of "Sooner or later, every locksmith
locksmiths, burglars and oracles. has the Dream."

KNOW Mortals who've answered a dream-riddle and "The Stag Door is the Adept's Gate.
entered the Mansus through the Stag Door. To pass it is to be initiated into the
(And returned: otherwise they probably don't .irst true mystery of the House of
count as mortal any more.) Initiation into the the Sun.''
ranks of the Know allows them to learn further
knowledge usually kept from mortals by the
Hours.

LANTERN The aspect of light, knowledge, and the secret "Each Hour has its colour, bur
place sometimes called the House of the Sun. colour exists only in light."

LONG Mortals turned immortal through devotion to "Hours don' t dream. Long try nor
an Hour. Most were formerly counted among ro."
the Know. Possibly some were never mortal.

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·THE MANSUS T he dwelling-place of (most of) the Hours "Behind the world is the Mansus,
( and the Names , many inhuman spirits, and the fortress of the Hours, the house
some among the Dead) . of the Sun. Its wa/Is are the size of
starlight. Its corridors are the angles
Accessible in dreams to sufficiently of time. Life begins in the Mansus,
knowledgeable mortals, and to very unlucky and memory ends there."
ones.

MOTH T he aspect of change, whimsy, u nreason, "These are the roads that chaos
secrecy, nature and the Wood. ride."

NAMES Major servants, aspects or emanatio ns of the "When the Sun-in-Splendour was
Hours . Some, perhaps all, Names were divided, its Names fractured too."
previously Long. Many Mansus-spirits claim
to be Names but probably are n't: true Names
are the rarest and most powerful.

NOWHERE The place most Dead go, .and o nly very bad "Shohei's preferred theories are that
things come from. Perhaps it's below the we are the children of apes who
Mansus. walked upright... or that we
consumed not only our parents,
'which is not the Crime of the Sky',
but also our origin, so that we
came from Nowhere."

PORT NOON A tropical sea-side resort w here Long drink "Port Noon is where the Long go
"from the Spring that makes them forgot ten". to stay, mostly, out of trouble."

REAL Scholars of the Invisible Arts mean someth ing "The wine is imaginary, but the cup
different from the usual meaning of this wo rd. is not. To navigate the Mansus one
The Mansus is not physical, but it's very real. must understand the distinction."

SECRET The aspect of alternate realities that have been "There is never only one history."
HISTORIES suppressed, forgotten or erased.

THE WAKE If it exists, and you can see it while you're not "The Nameless Name has been
asleep, then it's in the Wake. known to hunt secrets in the Wake."

WINTER T he aspect of death, remembrance, unlife, "This invokes, acknowledges and

debilitation and beauty. welcomes the passage to silence."

THE WOOD A tangled and p rimordial place where the "The Wood grows about the wa/Is
Glory's light does not reach. Accessible to of the Mansus. As any student of
those who fo llow instinct and passion through Histories knows, the Mansus has no
dark dreams. The most savage and Dionysiac wa/Is. ''
of the Hours are said to dwell i n the Wood
rathe r than in the Mansus itself.

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